AP European History

& World Civilization

AP European History is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester introductory college or university European history course. In AP European History students investigate significant events, individuals, developments, and processes in four historical periods from approximately 1450 to the present. Students develop and use the same skills, practices, and methods employed by historians: analyzing historical evidence; contextualization; comparison; causation; change and continuity over time; and argument development. The course also provides six themes that students explore throughout the course in order to make connections among historical developments in different times and places: interaction of Europe and the world; poverty and prosperity; objective knowledge and subjective visions; states and other institutions of power; individual and society; and national and European identity.

AP American Studies

& AP US History

Students in AP American Studies will be enrolled in both AP US History and AP Language and Composition. Mr. Coyne and Ms. Thompson work together to align the curricula of both classes, so that in AP Lang we will be reading and analyzing documents, speeches, and visual rhetoric that were produced during the historical era that students are studying in APUSH. Both classes will prepare students to take the AP Exams in May 2016. Students earning a score of 3 or above on the AP exam may qualify to receive college credits (depending on the policies of the College or University.)

The AP U.S. History course focuses on the development of historical thinking skills (chronological reasoning, comparing and contextualizing, crafting historical arguments using historical evidence, and interpreting and synthesizing historical narrative) and an understanding of content learning objectives organized around seven themes, such as identity, peopling, and America in the world. In line with college and university U.S. history survey courses’ increased focus on early and recent American history and decreased emphasis on other areas, the AP U.S. History course expands on the history of the Americas from 1491 to 1607 and from 1980 to the present.

In AP Lang, we will study major historical documents and speeches and look at American History through a variety of voices and perspectives. AP Language and Composition also has an intense focus on writing: primarily argument, research-based argument, and rhetorical analysis. In class, we will work consistently to improve upon students' writing skills. This means you will be writing essays quite often, but the repetition and focus on specific writing strategies will help to make students into more confident and capable writers.